Chile ? Rescuers have sent down antibiotics and ointments and were working Tuesday to blast cool, dry air to 33 miners trapped a half-mile underground for more than a month.

All the men have suffered from skin sores, foot fungi or abrasions, and infections could prove dangerous in the sweltering heat and humidity, with rescue at least six weeks away.

Scrapes, cuts and infections like athlete’s foot and jock itch are usually just minor annoyances. But trapped as they are in unrelenting 86-degree heat, with humidity at 88 percent, the miners don’t have any way of drying out.

In such an environment, any open wound presents a serious risk, so the miners have been instructed to use extreme caution.